


What's Beneath

by Jedi_MI



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Friends to Lovers, Gladio loves to swear, Gladnis, M/M, Piercings
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-08-25
Updated: 2018-08-25
Packaged: 2019-07-02 10:17:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,338
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15794484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jedi_MI/pseuds/Jedi_MI
Summary: Gladio’s known Ignis most of his life and is sure he knows pretty much everything about Noctis’ professional, serious and shy advisor.  When they end up switching bodies he discovers a side of Ignis that has him questioning all he thought he knew about the strategist.





	What's Beneath

Gladio was glad for the relatively easy hunt, hard enough to get his blood pumping and some decent exercise but easy enough he didn’t really need to worry about Noctis getting hurt.  He grinned as he took another sweeping swing with his broadsword at the strange creature they’d been hired to kill, some kind of mutant karlabos that was scaring tourists away from the Leirity seaside.  It was ugly as hell, thought Gladio, like an enormous lobster with some weird lightning thing going on down it’s body and across the tail. Might taste good, though.

 

“Hey Iggy, how you planning on cookin’ this thing up?” He asked, jumping out of the way of an enormous claw.

 

“Ah, I’m afraid it’s size has probably compromised the taste,” is the reply as Ignis lands a highjump hit directly to the monster’s head and backsprings out of the way.  Showoff. 

 

A gun blast to his right brings him back to the battle, Ignis already switching to his daggers and flitting in and out of the creature’s clawed reach while Prompto’s bullets rain down on it’s exposed underside.  A quick glance to his left showed Noctis warping out of the battle, sword being replaced by a…

 

“Noct, I swear if you hit me with another spell we’re not fishing for a month.”

 

“What’s the matter Gladio, I think you looked better after that lightning blast.”

 

“The hair was definitely an improvement,” Ignis quips, tossing a dagger into the air and kicking it towards the beast before retreating a safe distance.  With one last uppercut Gladio follows suit, getting out of the blast zone just as Noct’s blizzara spell explodes around the creature. With its movements slowed the four rush in for the final assault, concentrating on it’s vulnerable belly as it seems nearly frozen upright, claws extended as if ready to attack.

 

The air crackled with energy and the smell of ozone was nearly overwhelming as the creature finally fell, it’s body shooting off one last burst of lightning at its enemies.  Sensing the incoming blast Ignis pushed Noctis out of the way, bracing himself as Gladio brought his shield up to protect them both. The world went white and Gladio was thrown back, shield dissolving in a burst of blue as he went flying through the air, landing hard on his back several yards away, the death keel from the creature still ringing in the air.

 

With a groan Gladio slowly opened his eyes, the world slightly blurry around him as he took stock of his injuries.  His back and head hurt, no surprise there, but nothing seemed broken at least. “Hey Igs, you ok?” he asked, rolling himself gently to his feet.  He must have hit his head harder than he thought, his vision was still blurry and voice sounded weird. “I don’t care how that thing will taste, I’m going to eat the bastard for that.”

 

“Gladio?” Noct asked, his voice a mix of concern and shock.  Gladio turns towards the prince’s voice, groaning at the sensation of blood rushing around his pounding head.  

“Yeah, where’s Ignis?  Is he ok?” A streak of blond flashes as Prompto whips around to look at Noctis, Noct seems to be staring back at Prompto but with his headache and blurry vision Gladio can’t quite make out their expressions.  Now he was beginning to worry, had Ignis been injured? “Guys?”

 

“Uhhhhhhhhh, Gladio?”

 

“Prom, what the fuck?  Yes, now where’s Ignis?”

 

“I’m quite alright, just had the wind knocked… out.. of..  What the bloody hell?!?!” 

 

It was the alarm in his voice that had Gladio scrambling to his feet to look for Ignis.  He didn’t know what was wrong, but judging by the advisor’s tone something was very, very wrong.  Gladio’s mind went through all the horrible things that could have happened to his friend to cause such a reaction; everything from impalement on a tree (unlikely) to missing/broken glasses (more likely) to slightly-rumpled clothing (most likely).  His brain seemed to freeze as his eyes finally found the prone form of the advisor, unable to process what, exactly, he was seeing. 

 

Instead of a lithe form in an impeccably-tailored shirt and pants he saw a mess of dark hair, leather pants and an expanse of sun-darkened skin covered in blurry-looking lines forming what he knew were feathers.  Reluctantly he looked down at his hands; long, slim fingers covered in black leather gloves, thin, pale wrists peeking out between them and the cuffs of a white pinstripe shirt.  _ Shit _ .

 

“Shit!” Yup, now that he was  _ really _ paying attention he noticed his voice was coming out in Ignis’ rich baritone.  “What the fuck?”

 

“Uhm, I guess you switched bodies with Specs?”

 

“No shit princess.  You have anything remotely helpful to say?”

 

“Now now Gladio, let us take a moment to get our bearings,” and didn’t  _ that _ sound weird coming out of his mouth.  “I seem to uninjured, aside from the obvious.  You?”

 

“Everything’s blurry.”

 

“Ah, you seem to be missing my spectacles.”

 

“Damn” he muttered, searching the nearby grass for the missing item.

 

“Here you go not-so-big guy,” Prompto’s chirped, handing Gladio Ignis’ designer glasses.  With a huff Gladio slid them up his nose, world coming into sharp focus. “Better?” Slowly Gladio rose to his feet, taking the time to feel out his new limbs.  He saw Ignis doing the same, calling forth his daggers and vanishing them back into the ether, hands clenching and unclenching. One thing was for certain, Ignis wouldn’t be doing those showy jumps and flips in  _ his _ body.  Well, at least he was in Ignis’ body and not trapped in Noct or Prom’s short, scrawny bodies.   _ Time to see what this baby can do.   _ With a flash of blue he summoned his greatsword, permitting himself a sigh of relief when he felt the familiar weight settle into his hands.  The relief was shortlived, however, as he felt his center of gravity begin to shift, the large sword sliding down his shoulder as he struggled to keep it up.  He could feel the burn in his biceps as he fought with the weapon, muscles starting to quiver with the strain. With a defeated growl he finally let the sword drop, blade landing an inch away from a pristine leather dress shoe.

 

“Watch the merchandise, Gladiolus.  I’d prefer to come through this with all four limbs still attached.”

 

“No offense Iggy but this sucks.  How long ‘til I get my body back?”

 

“Unfortunately, I am unfamiliar with this particular status effect.” Gladio looked over at the other man, unease roiling in his stomach as he watched his arm move to his face as if adjusting glasses.  It was beyond bizarre seeing such an  _ Ignis _ gesture on  _ his _ body.  Ignis aborted the gesture with a soft cough, hand quickly switching direction from his nose to his mouth.  “I think our best bet is to get to the safety of Cape Caem or Galdin Quay and see what information we can find, especially if we are not back in the correct bodies by then.  Perhaps contact Dave, the hunters may have come across this before.”

 

“Let’s go to Galdin, the fishing’s better,” Noctis smiles.

 

“Of course your highness, fishing should be the priority now,” Ignis deadpans, though it doesn’t have the same ring to it in Gladio’s deep bass.  With a grin Noct pulls the car keys from the armiger, deftly catching them mid-air, and strides towards the parked Regalia, Prompto skipping alongside him.

 

Gladio follows behind the prince, slowly getting accustomed to moving in his new body.  Ignis is shorter than him, and though he’s no slouch when it comes to strength he doesn’t have the same muscle mass that Gladio is used to.   _ That much was made perfectly obvious with the greatsword incident.  _  His gait was different in this body, walking feeling awkward and uncomfortable as the body he was currently occupying moved on muscle memory while he tried to walk his normal way.  

 

“Damn Igs, you’re all leg, aren’t you?  No wonder you swagger when you walk.”

 

“I do not  _ swagger _ ,” Ignis protested with a huff. “Even if I did, it’s better than stomping around like an overgrown behemoth,” he added under his breath.

 

“So, how do all those bulging muscles feel Iggy?”  Prompto asks as he turns towards the two older men, camera snapping away.

 

“I can’t imagine photographs will be much proof of our switch, Prompto.”

 

“Maybe not, but  _ WE’LL _ know what the pics are from, and really, isn’t that all that matters?”  He responds with a laugh.

 

“You know I can still kick your ass in this body, right Prompto?  Cut that shit out and lets get the hell outta here.”

 

“Spoilsports,” the blond mutters, camera disappearing in a shower of blue, a pout on his face.

 

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

 

The drive to Galdin Quay was mostly quiet, Noctis taking the driver’s seat to save Ignis the pain of trying to drive in the unfamiliar body.  Not being able to reach Dave had put a damper on Ignis’ mood it seemed, the man beside Gladio unusually quiet and tense as he stared at his phone, probably doing research.  They had rented the caravan, not wanted to risk running into daemons around the campsite with their two strongest fighters probably out of commission. With a sigh Ignis tossed his phone on the table. “Nothing?” 

 

“I couldn’t find any mention of this effect, or that strange karlabos.  I am hoping Dave might have some answers for us.”

 

“I’m gonna hit the shower then while princess and blonde are busy catching dinner,” Gladio says, climbing the stairs to the caravan.

 

“Gladiolus, a moment if you please?” Ignis spoke up behind him.

 

“Sure Igs, what’s up?”  He didn’t know what was weirder, the proper sentences coming out in his gruff voice or his own speech pattern in Ignis’ posh accent.

 

“While I understand that you will need to attend to certain… bodily functions while in my body, I ask you to respect my privacy as much as possible and keep my body clothed at all times.”

 

“‘Course I’ll respect ya Iggy, but it’s hot as Ifrit’s ballsack out here and I’mma need to shower…”

 

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t.  I am sure we can fix this before anything like that is necessary.”

 

“Listen, Iggy, I get this is weird, it is for me too having a fuckin’ conversation with myself like this, but I gotta take a piss and unless you want me to piss your pants and then definitely have to shower, you’re gonna hafta let me go.”

 

Ignis looked flustered, a look he rarely, if ever, saw on the stoic tactician.  It was even stranger seeing it on his own face. The guy was obvious shy about his body, that much he already knew, although he had no idea why.  Even through his button up tops and fussy dress uniform he could tell Ignis had a rockin body, long and lean and strong enough to make Gladio drool.  

 

“Of course Gladio.  I will ask that you only remove what is necessary and that you not… share or make comments on… anything.  Please.”

 

Shit, he was really worried.  Did he have some crazy disfigurement or something under those pressed suits?  

 

“You got it Iggy,  promise, now I really gotta go,” Gladio said, brain wracking what Ignis could possibly be hiding as he made his way into the cramped camper bathroom.

 

What could he possibly so worried about.  Then, like lightning it hit him: Ignis had a small cock and was embarrassed.  Ignis, who expected perfection in every facet of his life, had a tiny imperfection and was, obviously, upset it was about to be found out.

 

With a sigh he unzipped Ignis’ pants and reached in to pull him out, need to relieve himself (relieve Ignis?  Damned if this body-switch stuff wasn’t confusing as hell). Pulling Ignis out of his pants he didn’t feel small, in fact his cock seemed nearly as big as Gladio’s own, perhaps a little longer and not quite as thick.  What the hell was Ignis’ problem? His cock seemed just as perfect as the rest of him.

 

Wait a minute… 

 

Gladio looked down with wide eyes, his brain at a standstill trying to combine what he felt and saw with the man he knew, eyes stuck on the metal beads in front of him.  Ignis had a penis piercing.

 

Ignis Scientia, prim, proper, perfect Ignis FUCKING Scientia had his godsdamned cock pierced. 

 

Was it weird to get turned on by Ignis when he was IN Ignis’ body?  That was probably super fucked up but the sight of those two metal beads nestled under his cockhead was sending all the blood in his (?) body south.  Damn, he needed to get himself under control.

 

With a sigh he turned the cold water on the sink as far as it could go, filling up his hands and splashing his face.   _ Shit, glasses! _  Annoyed he removed the dripping spectacles from his face and placed them on the small countertop, drawing his eyes to the mirror in front of him as he did.  Ignis’ face stared back, cheeks slightly flushed and those gorgeous, expressive eyes staring back at him. 

 

Ignis had been pretty adamant that Gladio not remove any clothing but he must have realized he’d find the piercing.  Did he have more? His nipples perhaps? Gladio could probably feel those without having to actually remove any clothing, right?  He shook his head, banishing the thought. Ignis obviously was uncomfortable with people knowing about his body, he wouldn’t betray his trust by feeling up the other man to satisfy his own curiosity.  

 

He didn’t know why he found this all so… strange.  Gladio himself had contemplated getting his nipples pierced before realizing with the amount of training he did, often shirtless, it probably wasn’t the smartest idea.  But that was Gladio, Ignis just didn’t seem like the type?? He was so uptight and straight-laced, what else could he possibly be hiding?

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to combine my love for tattooed/pierced Iggy (have you SEEN some of the art?? The man is perfect!) with my own thoughts on Ignis as a person and how his childhood and the expectations placed on him shape and influence him. Does that make sense? I'm not sure but if I know anything about myself it's that I can't resist getting these two in bed with eachother, so smut will be coming :)


End file.
